Early, bleary-eyed views of Beijing

Smoggy BeijingFirst impressions after five hours in Beijing:

What a mess: Monday was one of those sickeningly smoggy days that we’ve been warned about. The gray-yellow muck was hard on the eyes, in more ways than one.

If the smog persists, don’t be surprised to see: Tennis players hitting more lobs. Baseball players trying for pop flies. And the high divers? They better wear some sparkling suits just so the judges can see them.

Michael Phelps can’t win everything: I’ve seen two large ads featuring Yao Ming vs. just one of Phelps.

When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go: On the bus from the airport to the media village, we drove past a car stopped on the shoulder of the highway, and the driver was standing outside urinating. He wasn’t bashful, either.